The biggest recipients were PRIDE of Tuscaloosa and the Druid City Garden Project, both of which went from recommendations of $0 to $30,000.

Meanwhile, the council reduced the city Board of Education’s special appropriation for its career tech-fire position by more than $9,500 to $63,000 and eliminated $62,500 for the West Tuscaloosa Promise Initiative.

The new total for agency funding in fiscal 2014 is $12.35 million, which still represents a roughly 15 percent increase over the fiscal 2013 funding for agencies outside of City Hall.

Formal adoption of these changes as well as the city’s combined $172.52 million budget — $130.75 million for the General Fund and $41.77 million for the Water and Sewer Fund — is expected to take place next week.

Led by outgoing Councilman Lee Garrison, who also serves as the chair of the City Council’s Finance Committee, city officials spent almost three hours reviewing the agency funding recommendations put forth by Mayor Walt Maddox.

The only agency the council heard from on Tuesday was the Druid City Garden Project and Lindsay Turner, the group’s executive director.

Turner said the Garden Project was not notified of the meeting scheduled with Maddox and other officials to review the agency’s funding request. This oversight allowed her to appear Tuesday to make the case for the agency’s $30,000 request.

Garrison had strong concerns that the Garden Project, which now operates an education garden at University Place and Woodland Forrest elementary schools, both of which are in the city school system, should be funded mostly — if not exclusively — through the Board of Education.

However, unable to determine during the morning whether funding for the Garden Project was included in the board’s fiscal 2014 budget, Garrison relented to the recommendations of Councilwoman Cynthia Almond and others that the city allow the funding for this year and the first funding request made by the group that began in 2010.

But Lesley Bruinton, spokeswoman for the city schools, said Garden Project officials made a presentation to the Board of Education during its most recent meeting, but no immediate action was taken.

A similar sentiment added the $30,000 for PRIDE of Tuscaloosa, a drug prevention program for teens and school-age children that the city has helped fund for at least a decade.

PRIDE is in the midst of a transition, officials said, but Almond suggested adding funding for PRIDE for this year to ensure it remains successful once a new focus for its efforts is chosen.

It was at Garrison’s insistence that the $62,500 set aside for the West Tuscaloosa Promise Neighborhood Initiative was eliminated, primarily because the councilman said he had too many questions about its purpose and goal.

Funding for the initiative had been requested from the City Council before but has been resisted by Garrison and Council President Harrison Taylor.

Garrison said he wanted more information on how the money will be used to accomplish the initiative’s stated goals of getting West Tuscaloosa classified as a “promise neighborhood,” which would make it eligible for millions of dollars in grant funds through President Barack Obama’s Promise Neighborhood’s program through the U.S. Department of Education.

Garrison, who was elected chair of the city’s Board of Education and will assume his new role Nov. 4, said he may return to ask that the money be reinstated after learning more from city schools officials.

<p>The City Council approved some funding increases during Tuesday's review of agency appropriations in the fiscal 2014 municipal budget.</p><p>The biggest recipients were PRIDE of Tuscaloosa and the Druid City Garden Project, both of which went from recommendations of $0 to $30,000.</p><p>Meanwhile, the council reduced the city Board of Education's special appropriation for its career tech-fire position by more than $9,500 to $63,000 and eliminated $62,500 for the West Tuscaloosa Promise Initiative.</p><p>The new total for agency funding in fiscal 2014 is $12.35 million, which still represents a roughly 15 percent increase over the fiscal 2013 funding for agencies outside of City Hall.</p><p>Formal adoption of these changes as well as the city's combined $172.52 million budget — $130.75 million for the General Fund and $41.77 million for the Water and Sewer Fund — is expected to take place next week.</p><p>Led by outgoing Councilman Lee Garrison, who also serves as the chair of the City Council's Finance Committee, city officials spent almost three hours reviewing the agency funding recommendations put forth by Mayor Walt Maddox.</p><p>The only agency the council heard from on Tuesday was the Druid City Garden Project and Lindsay Turner, the group's executive director.</p><p>Turner said the Garden Project was not notified of the meeting scheduled with Maddox and other officials to review the agency's funding request. This oversight allowed her to appear Tuesday to make the case for the agency's $30,000 request.</p><p>Garrison had strong concerns that the Garden Project, which now operates an education garden at University Place and Woodland Forrest elementary schools, both of which are in the city school system, should be funded mostly — if not exclusively — through the Board of Education.</p><p>However, unable to determine during the morning whether funding for the Garden Project was included in the board's fiscal 2014 budget, Garrison relented to the recommendations of Councilwoman Cynthia Almond and others that the city allow the funding for this year and the first funding request made by the group that began in 2010.</p><p>But Lesley Bruinton, spokeswoman for the city schools, said Garden Project officials made a presentation to the Board of Education during its most recent meeting, but no immediate action was taken.</p><p>A similar sentiment added the $30,000 for PRIDE of Tuscaloosa, a drug prevention program for teens and school-age children that the city has helped fund for at least a decade.</p><p>PRIDE is in the midst of a transition, officials said, but Almond suggested adding funding for PRIDE for this year to ensure it remains successful once a new focus for its efforts is chosen.</p><p>It was at Garrison's insistence that the $62,500 set aside for the West Tuscaloosa Promise Neighborhood Initiative was eliminated, primarily because the councilman said he had too many questions about its purpose and goal.</p><p>Funding for the initiative had been requested from the City Council before but has been resisted by Garrison and Council President Harrison Taylor.</p><p>Garrison said he wanted more information on how the money will be used to accomplish the initiative's stated goals of getting West Tuscaloosa classified as a “promise neighborhood,” which would make it eligible for millions of dollars in grant funds through President Barack Obama's Promise Neighborhood's program through the U.S. Department of Education.</p><p>Garrison, who was elected chair of the city's Board of Education and will assume his new role Nov. 4, said he may return to ask that the money be reinstated after learning more from city schools officials.</p>